You really never know what you’re going to get from Axl Rose in an interview, and it seems pretty clear that he isn’t exactly eager to discuss the possibility of reuniting the original Guns N’ Roses lineup for a performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony next year.

With that in mind, the Los Angeles Times probably wasn’t expecting to get much reunion news when it interviewed Rose after a recent Seattle gig. However, the newspaper got Rose’s most direct comments on the matter to date — and the admission that, whatever happens, he doesn’t “want to spoil it for everybody else.”

“I’ve got mixed emotions about what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually really is,” said Rose, “but at the same time, there’s a lot of people — the fans — that it just means something to them, and they’re happy. It’s like you won the Heisman or something.”

For that reason, Rose doesn’t want to turn the band’s Hall of Fame induction into a forum for his gripes against his former bandmates. As he put it, “People don’t want that associated with their awards shows, even if you have a big audience. In one way it might be right, but it usually backfires on whoever does it. So I really don’t want to spoil it for everybody else — or take the beating.”

But don’t take that to mean Rose has any plans for a reunion. In fact, as he told Roberts, “There is no plan yet. There really is no plan. We’re still busy with this lineup. We’re gonna be busy — we’re gonna be busy all next year. We’ll be putting out new stuff as soon as we can figure out what our deal is with labels, blah blah blah.”

Much of Rose’s schedule will be taken up by touring commitments with his latest incarnation of Guns N’ Roses — a tour that was planned as part of a legal settlement with Rose’s former manager, but has still been earning positive reviews despite Rose’s claims that the dates aren’t being marketed properly.

Of course, a reunion tour from the classic Guns lineup would be promoted like crazy, but don’t expect Rose to accept any of those offers anytime soon. “All these managers, they all believe in one thing: sell a reunion tour and get their commission,” he complained during the interview. “It’s just a phone call. It’s a half a day’s … work, or however long they want to keep the bidding war going. They get their commission and they don’t care if it falls on its face.”

As always, the long-broiling feud between Rose and ex-GN’R guitarist Slash is a major sticking point, and during the Times interview, Rose claimed their differences went all the way back to the first time they met. “He came in, popped my tape out and put his in and wanted me in his band. And I didn’t want to join his band. We’ve had that war since Day 1.”

For his part, Slash has said that he has not committed to attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 14 in Cleveland.